Thursday, June 4, 2015

Cai, cai!

We hear it every day. Tea, tea!

Now it's a couple of truck drivers who
loudly invite us to join them for a cup of tea brewed in their lorry,
the other time it's the father who is building another family house
with his sons and sons in law, or it's one of those numerous elderly
men who are sitting in their local tea-houses sipping tea, playing
cards or just staring in front of them. We have decided to accept
these invitations every now and then. It's a welcomed break in the
sometimes streneous cycling (hilly country!) and it's always an
opportunity to make contact with kind and gentle people and every
time we enjoy it. It's what travelling on a bike makes so attractive.

When checking in in today's pansiyon
the owner, also shoe seller, did the same. As soon as we had agreed to
take the room and accept the price he shouted more than he asked:
“Cai?”. Of course we did accept. He then took a kind of
walkie-talkie from a shelf and shouted “Cai” in it and repeated
it a couple of times. We were not surprised that a minute later a man
appeared from across the street who carried a tray with three
tea-glasses. We sipped it and the incomprehensible conversation in
Turkish added to the fun.